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"The last song on that album (River Of Dreams) is called 'Famous Last Words,' and it says, 'These are the last words I have to say,'" Billy Joel recalls. "And that was the last time I wrote a piece of music that had lyrics. Right after that, I began to write instrumental music, without words. That was eight years ago. I was learning a new vernacular. I have always written the music first, when I wrote songs. But now, it was a matter of how I could make the music speak, instead of having to translate it into lyrics."

Fantasies & Delusions is the next chapter in Billy Joel's life-long love affair with the piano. Before the world-renowned "Piano Man" ever discovered rock 'n' roll, he grew up studying classical piano, already feeling the influences of Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, and many others. "But, by the time I was 15, I didn't want to be a concert pianist and I didn't want to have to play other people's music, so I left classical music--'the girl next door' and ran away with rock 'n' roll--'the woman with the torn fishnet stockings and high heels.' She swept me away and, for 30 years, we had this wild love affair. Now things have cooled down a little bit and although I'll always have strong feelings for her, I'm back in love with the girl next door."

Drawing on a diverse range of classical influences, Billy Joel composed the ten solo piano pieces that comprise Fantasies & Delusions. "Essentially, they are written in the style of the romantic era--except for the 'Invention in C Minor' which is more of an 18th century piece--I would say from the middle 19th century to early 20th century, bridging the time from Schumann up to Debussy. On this recording, there are ten pieces, but one of them is a suite, which has three pieces inside it, so there are actually 13 separate pieces of music."

When it came time for Billy Joel to record his new compositions, he enlisted Richard Joo, a classical pianist and winner of the Stravinsky Prize for piano, based on a recommendation from his brother, Alex Joel, a rising young conductor in Vienna. "I am not as good a pianist as people think I am," Joel modestly confesses. "For rock 'n' roll, I am OK, but for this kind of music, I wanted a true virtuoso, someone who knows how to express all the nuances, who intuitively understands all the dynamics, and who can deliver a bravura performance on the instrument. And so, someone like Richard Joo is perfect."

Billy Joel's passion for, and understanding of, classical music came as a revelation to piano virtuoso Richard Joo. "I would say it's a very beautiful marriage between the 21st century composer and the greats of the 19th century," says Joo. "I have been lucky that I was chosen to play his music. It's been really great to work with him.

Produced by eight-time Grammy winner (including three Classical Producer of the Year trophies) Steven Epstein, Fantasies & Delusions was recorded at the Vienna Koncerthaus at the Mozartsaal, Vienna, Austria, in June 2001 on a specially selected Steinway Model D grand piano. "There were a lot of reasons to record in Vienna," Joel explains. "I have a brother who is a conductor in Vienna and my father lives there. The nature of most of the music on this album is 19th century romantic in style, and Vienna was the creative Mecca for music during this era, just as it was during the heyday of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. This city venerates composers and musicians and there is also an exciting, young vital music community there. It just felt like the right place to come to pay respects to the place where much of this style of music originated. There is also another element. I don't know if the word is 'ghosts' or 'spirits' but there is something in the atmosphere itself, the way the place feels, that connects you to this kind of music."

For Billy Joel, Fantasies & Delusions is the next step in his ongoing musical evolution. "My own music is being recorded by someone else but I don't think the time would come where I would never make music," Joel admits. "You see, I might not be singing right now. I am not writing 'songs' and I am not personally recording my music but I am composing and that is the essence of what I have always done and will always do. The playwright doesn't have to act to have his characters come to life. Good actors can do that. Likewise, the composer doesn't have to perform his music to have it heard. Good musicians can do that. This is an idea that has always intrigued me. Hopefully, this recording reflects that."

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Billy Joel
Opus 1-10
Fantasies & Delusions
Music For Solo Piano

Richard Joo, Pianist

1.	Opus 3. Reverie (Villa D'Este)		9:28
2.	Opus 2.	Waltz # 1 (Nunley's Carousel)	6:52
3.	Opus 7.	Aria (Grand Canal)		11:04
4.	Opus 6.	Invention in C Minor		0:59
5.	Opus 1.	Soliloquy (On A Separation)	11:17
6.	Opus 8.	Suite For Piano (Star-Crossed)
	I.	Innamorato			7:44
7.	II.	Sorbetto			1:28
8.	III.	Delusion			3:32
9.	Opus 5.	Waltz # 2 (Steinway Hall)	6:56
10.	Opus 9.	Waltz # 3 (For Lola)		3:25			
11.	Opus 4.	Fantasy (Film Noir)		8:45
12.	Opus 10.	Air (Dublinesque)	3:45

All music composed by William Joel, Impulsive Music, ASCAP

Recorded at Vienna Koncerthaus at the Mozartsaal, Vienna Austria 6/01

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Having sold more than 100 million records over the past quarter century, Billy Joel ranks as one of most popular recording artists and respected entertainers of all time. He has won five Grammy Awards including Record of the Year (1978: "Just The Way You Are"), Song of the Year (1978: "Just The Way You Are"), Album of the Year (1979: 52nd Street), and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male (1979: 52nd Street; 1980: Glass Houses). In 1990, Billy Joel received the Grammy Legend Award and was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1999, Joel was presented with the American Music Awards Award of Merit, the worldwide sales of his albums topped the 100 million-unit mark and he was presented with the RIAA Diamond Award (10 million copies sold in the U.S.) for Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II. Joel holds 81 RIAA gold, platinum, and multi-platinum certifications for his singles, albums, and videos. On March 15, 1999, Billy Joel was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame by the legendary Ray Charles. Earlier this year, the Songwriter's Hall of fame presented Joel with the "Johnny Mercer Award," their highest honor.

related links:

Billy Joel online: www.billyjoel.com
Columbia Records online: www.columbiarecords.com